After being designated for assignment earlier this week by the Seattle Mariners, catcher Seby Zavala has cleared waivers and reported to Triple-A Tacoma.

Per @MarinersPR on social media:

Roster move: catcher Seby Zavala cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.

This is a good move for multiple reasons. First, at the major league level right now, the M’s are utilizing Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver at catcher. Garver was signed to be a primary designated hitter and wasn’t supposed to be used behind the plate at all, so there’s always the chance that the increased workload causes him to get banged up. If that happens, the M’s will have Zavala there to step back into the backup role.

Furthermore, the M’s use both Raleigh and Garver in the lineup together a lot with one playing catcher and one playing designated hitter. It creates a tough roster scenario for manager Scott Servais late in games. If he pinch runs for one of them, then he doesn’t have a backup catcher in play anymore. If that situation becomes untenable, they may want to bring Zavala back as well.

And furthermore, at the very least, you have a veteran catcher down at Triple-A working with younger pitchers. That can only be good for the continued development of guys like Emerson Hancock, who are with the Rainiers.

Savala is hitting .154 this season for Seattle with one homer and two RBI. He only has 39 at-bats. He’s in his fifth major league season with the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks and Mariners.

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SEATTLE (AP) — Jordan Morris scored two goals late in the second half and the Seattle Sounders rallied from two goals down to beat FC Dallas 3-2 in a wild finish Saturday night.

Seattle Sounders 3, FC Dallas 2: Box Score

Neither club scored until rookies Logan Farrington and Patrickson Delgado teamed up for a goal in the 66th minute to give Dallas (5-9-5) a 1-0 lead. Delgado took a pass from Farrington and found the net for the third time this season. Farrington’s assist was his second.

Delgado notched his third assist of the campaign four minutes later on a goal by rookie Petar Musa for a 2-0 advantage. Musa was coming off a hat trick in a 5-3 victory over visiting Minnesota United on Wednesday night.

The Sounders (6-7-7) closed within a goal in the 78th minute when Raúl Ruidíaz took a pass from Albert Rusnák and scored. It was his eighth netter this season.

Morris accounted for the equalizer when he headed in a shot with an assist from Rusnák — his ninth of the season — in the 88th minute for Seattle’s first corner-kick goal of the season.

Morris used an assist from Obed Vargas to score the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time. It was the seventh goal of the season for Morris with six of them coming in the last seven matches. The goal was the 60th of Morris’ career, moving him past Fredy Montero for second most in club history.

Stefan Frei had three saves for the Sounders. Maarten Paes saved six shots for Dallas. Paes had two saves and Frei one in a scoreless first half.

Dallas was on a six-match winless skid when it fired Nico Estévez. The club had won its first two matches under interim manager Peter Luccin, beating St. Louis City and Minnesota United and was trying to win three in a row for the first time since late in the 2020 season.

Dallas falls to 1-11-4 all time in Seattle with its lone victory coming in 2011. Dallas (0-7-3) and St. Louis City are the only clubs without a victory on the road this season.

The Sounders earned their third home victory of the season and lead the all-time series 15-8-10, outscoring Dallas 50-35.

Dallas returns home to play FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Seattle will host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

Seattle Sounders, investment firm finalize purchase of NWSL’s Seattle Reign

The Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in less than a month, officially ushering in the first season under new coach Mike Macdonald.

In preparation for the new incoming season, we’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, diving into scheme fits, exploring best and worst case scenarios and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2024 campaign.

Added late in the offseason program as extra depth under center, can PJ Walker force his way onto Seattle’s roster as a third quarterback?

As a multi-year starter at Temple, Walker broke the school’s all-time passing record and guided the Owls to a 10-win season as a senior in 2016. Despite that success, however, he wasn’t drafted and signed with the Colts, bouncing on and off the practice squad during two seasons with the franchise before being selected by the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. Starring in the new league, he led all players in passing yards and touchdowns before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season prematurely. Following his success in the spring pro league, he reunited with former Temple coach Matt Rhule in Carolina, starting seven games in three seasons with the Panthers. Last season, he joined the Browns in early September after spending time in camp with the Bears and wound up starting two games in place of an injured Deshaun Watson.

Though undersized at 5-11, 214 pounds, Walker has above average athleticism that caters well to designed quarterback runs and the bootleg game in play action while having enough arm talent to be able to push the ball downfield some. He primarily played out of shotgun at the college level, which should make him a solid fit learning Ryan Grubb’s scheme as a third-string signal caller.

Leaning on his extensive starting experience, Walker quickly grasps Grubb’s offense and enjoys a stellar preseason with four touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown, leading to the Seahawks deciding to keep a third quarterback on the active roster to avoid him from being plucked up by another team off waivers.

Far from a polished passer despite starting nearly double digit games in the NFL, Walker struggles to complete passes during exhibition season with Smith and Howell clearly light years ahead of him, and the Seahawks decide to cut him in late August and pursue a replacement off waivers rather than retain him on the practice squad.

After trading for Howell in March, Walker wasn’t signed to compete for Seattle’s backup job, but he should receive a ton of playing time during preseason games with Smith unlikely to play much until the season opener. Now a grizzled veteran who has learned numerous offenses in multiple leagues, the 29-yard old has enough arm talent and athleticism to potentially light it up against third and fourth-string defenses in August, bolstering his stock for other teams who may be looking for an upgrade behind their starting quarterback.

Thanks to new rules implemented last year, it’s possible under such circumstances Walker could earn himself a third spot on the Seahawks active roster for emergency game day activations if necessary. At the same time, however, the organization has preferred keeping only two signal callers active over the years, and most likely, they will be hoping to keep him as an insurance policy on the practice squad in case Smith and/or Howell gets banged up during the season.

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